1. Choose a topic area and narrow it down
2. Devise a title for your paper
3. Produce an outline (you may want to post it here in this thread so others might give feedbacks/comments)
4. Read closely and attentively the criteria descriptors in the A1 English syllabus and keep them in mind as you write!

6. Tone
-author's attitude to the subject as revealed in the style and manner of the writing
e.g. -serious
-comic
-ironic

7. Narrator
-person telling the story
-maybe the author
-omniscient or
-limited
-or a fictional character telling the story
-there may be multiple narrators
-make a clear distinction between author, narrator, and character

9. Narrative
-history of events, characters, or whatever the narrator wishes to relate to the reader

10. Characterisation
-physical appearance
-psychological characteristics
-direct speech
-opinions of the narrator or other characters
-etc. things that the author uses to characterise his characters

11. Point of View
-the literary strategy by which an author presents the events of a narrative from the perspective of a particular person
-maybe consistent or maybe not
-do not mistake point of view for opinion

12. Structure
-planned underlying framework of a work
-relationships between its parts in terms of arrangement or construction

13. Theme
-underlying topic/issue
-general
-abstract
-it should be possible to express theme in a single word or phrase
e.g. -death
-education
-coming of age

14. Genre
-literary category of style
e.g. -short story
-novella
-novel
-we become aware of genre through cultural experience
e.g. -in detective stories, murder mysteries are solved
-we can surmise what sort of things may happen if we know the genre

15. Cultural Context
-culture/historical context and circumstances under which the work was produced

1. Method
-deep and attentive reader
-reading, then re-reading
-active engagement with the book
-taking notes

2. Approach
-read novel quickly to get an idea of the storyline
-read it again more slowly
-take notes

3. Make Notes
-some written in book (highlighting details, etc.)
-others on seperate pages or notebook (summaries of evidence, collections of observations, page references for study topics or quotations, etc.)

4. Notes in the Book
-use pencil
-brief note saying 'why' or 'how' something is interesting